CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3 (b) The accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in October 2009; (c) The accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in September 2007; (d) C. The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in July 1994. Principal matters of concern and recommendations 5. The Committee notes with concern that reference is made in the State party’s system to certain religious tenets as primary norms. The State party should ensure that all the obligations of the Covenant are fully respected and that the provisions of its internal norms are not invoked as justification for its failure to fulfil its obligations under the Covenant. 6. The Committee is concerned that the status of international human rights treaties in domestic law is not specified in the legal system, which hinders the full implementation of the rights contained in the Covenant. The State party should ensure effective implementation and application of Covenant provisions, irrespective of the place of the Covenant in the domestic legal system. 7. The Committee is concerned that the State party has not yet established a consolidated national institution with competence in the field of human rights in accordance with the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134) (art. 2). The State party should consider establishing a national human rights institution with a broad human rights mandate, and provide it with adequate financial and human resources, in line with the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex). 8. Despite the development regarding the education of women, the Committee is concerned about the low number of women in decision-making positions in the public sector. It is also concerned that a number of public positions have never been filled by women, such as in the Guardian Council or high positions in the Expediency Council and that women are excluded from certain public positions, such as the post of judge (arts. 2 and 26). The State party should take steps to increase the number of women in decisionmaking and judicial bodies at all levels and in all areas. It should also organize special training programmes for women and regular awareness campaigns in this regard. 9. The Committee is concerned about the continuing inequality of women with regard to marriage, family and inheritance matters (arts. 2 and 26). The State party should amend the Civil Code and further amend the draft Family Protection Law, to (a) abolish the requirement for a father’s or paternal grandfather’s approval to legalize a marriage; (b) grant women equal rights to divorce; (c) award equal custody rights to the mother, including after a child reaches the age of seven or if she remarries; (d) award guardianship of a child to the mother in the case of the father’s death; (e) grant women the same inheritance rights as men; (f) remove the legal obligation for a woman to be obedient to her husband; (g) remove the requirement for a husband’s approval when a woman intends to leave the country; (h) prohibit polygamy; and (i) remove the power of a man to prohibit his 2